Northavon MP Steve Webb cleared in expenses inquiry (From Gazette Series)

Northavon MP Steve Webb cleared in expenses inquiry

3:47pm Thursday 15th October 2009

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NORTHAVON MP Steve Webb has been given the all clear in the investigation into MP’s expenses.

An independent inquiry led by Sir Thomas Legg found that Mr Webb had not claimed for anything he should not have done.

Other MPs, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown, have been ordered to repay claims for cleaning, gardening and household items which the investigation found to be excessive.

On receiving a letter giving him the all clear, Mr Webb said: "I am pleased that Sir Thomas Legg's independent inquiry has confirmed that wherever I have needed to claim expenses this has been done in an entirely proper way. "In my view, expenses are needed simply to enable an MP to stay away from his or her family home to work at Westminster for part of the week, but should not be about lavish living or profiting from the taxpayer's money."

He added: "We now need a new system which is completely open and where taxpayers can see that they are getting value for money."

The investigation was launched after allegations that MPs had abused their expenses to make money were printed in national newspapers earlier this year along with details of the claims that had been made.

The investigation looked at all claims by MPs over the five years from 2004 to 2005 to see whether they were in order. Sir Thomas Legg also imposed his own limits on what he thought were reasonable claims for the costs of keeping a second home including a £1,000 cap for gardening and £2,000 for cleaning.

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